Boxed Up, Labeled, and Shut Down

Over the past couple of years we have been studying teachings from various denominations. Our ministry is unique, in that we reach out to all flavors of Christianity and we don’t let the labels define us or our view of others. I came from a very secluded belief system that teaches that people of A, B, C etc denominations aren’t really saved. This was so detrimental to our minds and hearts and it hindered us in the ministry God placed in our care. We had to realize that a group of people who fellowship under a label doesn’t mean they all believe everything that denomination teaches. Therefore, we sought out to know the individual people on their own, rather than assume they believed something specific just because they attend those churches for worship and fellowship.

{photo credit by Molly Rose at Pix-O-Sphere}

I really think that the lessons we need to learn in humility is a universal lesson for us all and at different times in our lives.  We don’t all have our theology right 100% of the time and there’s no way we ever will. The Bible is a complex book full of metaphors that could mean one thing to you on one day and an entirely different thing a few months down the road. That’s the beauty and magnificence of when the Word becomes living for us…when the Word wraps around us instead of us trying top wrap ourselves around interpretations. People say you shouldn’t try to fit God into your little theological box and I agree with all my heart. I also believe that we shouldn’t try to put ourselves into those boxes either. He will wrap Himself around us and show us how much he loves us. He will guide us to understand who He is each step of the way.

{photo credit by Sisterlisa at Pix-O-Sphere}

It’s been such a wonderful experience getting to know people on an individual basis. I have discovered beautiful people in a variety of denominations. As I partake in discussion online and even in person there is something I have seen that utterly shuts a person down and the relationships people say mean so much to them are dashed upon the rocks. Time and time again we lose our opportunity to love people. It happens when the labels are thrown around. When we’re forced into boxes with accusatory statements.

“Utterly shuts a person down.”

{photo credit by Ellen Humphries at Pix-O-Sphere}

When I had a discussion with someone about the original Sabbath Day being on a Saturday I was ‘accused’ of being a 7th Day Adventist. Had I been asked if I was, it wouldn’t have bothered me. But what did bother me was how it came across. It was an accusatory, “oh..you’re a 7th Day Adventist”, with that smugness that somehow being a SDA is a bad thing and now I was pushed into a box, I was labeled, and belittled. And get this… I’m not a 7th Day Adventist follower. I know some who fellowship there though, but the accusatory statement shut me down immediately. Even though I’m not a SDA, I couldn’t help but to stand firm against the accusation. To stand firm for the freedom everyone has to study where they’re at.

{photo credit by Sisterlisa at Pix-O-Sphere}

I had another discussion among another group of people and I happened to mention that I believe that God chooses us first. Again that same tactic was used to shut me down, force me into a box, and I was labeled a Calvinist. I’m not a Calvinist. But because I agree that God chooses us, to these people I was now off limits for them. They could no longer love me over this one issue. I was rejected without even an opportunity to share what I believe.

{photo credit by Sisterlisa at Pix-O-Sphere}

Then on to another set of discussions where I believe in my security in Christ to which I was again pushed into another box, shut down and labeled a Baptist and sharply reminded that according to their(the people I was talking to) beliefs that at any time I could lose my salvation. I shared that I did not believe I could lose my salvation to which I was then shut down again, rejected, and called a heretic. “Wow”, I thought. So according to this group, the Baptists are heretics? I love these dear people, but I couldn’t help but to chuckle a bit under my breath. I’m not a SDA, a Calvinist, or a Baptist.

Heretics? Really?

I read a book that describes the origin and symbolism in the teaching of eucharisteo and I fully embraced the spiritual meaning of the word, but the word in and of itself is widely used by Catholics in their tradition of the Eucharist and I was then accused of being a Catholic and some Protestants labeled me, and boxed me up tightly. To them I’m now ‘not really saved’.

I was quickly discovering how each believer feels in each of these churches when I saw how I was treated for believing certain things. Have you ever wanted to walk into a mega church dressed like a homeless person, all muddy and smelly, to see how people would treat you? God has led my family through a similar path to teach us a valuable lesson.

Now I have spent the last several months studying hope, faith, and love. What does hope, faith, and love look like through the eyes of people in various denominations? I can assure you it looks different to each to them, according to their doctrines of course. Each person in each denomination doesn’t see things exactly as their doctrinal standards teach them.

{photo credit by Sprittibee at Pix-O-Sphere}

I have looked at hope, faith, and love through different avenues and through the lives of different people. Thankfulness, according to Ann Voskamp, is beautiful beyond words, a holy experience. Forgiveness, according to Gary Chapman, is life changing for me, a language I had not known. Love, according to Darrin Hufford, is freeing, his views cleared up my misunderstandings about God! Grace, through the eyes of Serena Woods, is for sinners and I know I’m welcome in her community. I have learned something valuable through their eyes and their denomination (or non) had nothing to do with my journey through these things. Then there is hope, through the eyes of Rob Bell that shows me I can have hope that Love Wins and I can have faith through the eyes of Steve McVey that God is truly a God of reconciliation.

So what am I? Am I a Calvinist, a Baptist, a Pentecostal, a Methodist, a Christian Universalist, a Protestant or a Catholic?

I’m not going to tell you. Maybe I’m a bit of all of them. Maybe I’m none of them, but I have crawled into the boxes and tried on the labels and none of them seem to fit 100%. Just like how it’s rare to find a pair of jeans or a bra that is absolutely perfect and needs some adjusting. I’m okay with that. I am answerable to God and only God for what I believe about Him. But I can assure you that in all of our journeys as we try to figure out who God and Christ is to us as individuals, we have absolutely no right to force people into boxes and shut them down with accusatory labels. If someone states specifically that they are NOT of one box or label, we need to hear them out and take them at their word.

We’re all on a journey and we all get some things wrong, but our salvation in Christ is not contingent on our understanding or misunderstanding about theology according to all the labels in the world. There is no race to figure everything out before we die. Christ has everything taken care of and I believe this quite firmly. If I have some concept about Him out of whack, He needs to be my Teacher and straighten me out. But I don’t think He’s going to reject me if I don’t have things quite figured out. God is so magnificent and multifaceted, how could I possibly understand Him totally and completely all the time and get it right 100%? He’s mysterious and beautiful and I love the romance I have in Christ as He gently and lovingly reveals himself to me along the way.

Which means I can study with any theological perspective and trust Him to show me what he wants for me to know about Him and how that works in my unique, one of a kind, relationship with Him. I may get boxed up, labeled, and shut down by many, but Christ opens me up and helps me to grow and blossom as he wants me to.

So shall I choose one label over another and be rejected by everyone else? No, I think I shall choose no label and you’ll have to decide on your own if you want to reject me or love me….all based on your own beliefs and not on mine.

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